89.36.64.146 at 15:23, 6 July 2025

2025-07-06T15:23:45Z

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The '''Kedermister Library''', at [[Langley, Slough|Langley]] near [[Slough]] in the [[England|English]] county of [[Berkshire]] (formerly in [[Buckinghamshire]]), is a rare surviving example of an early 17th-century parish [[library]], preserved in situ in the decorated cupboards designed for it in 1620 in [[St Mary the Virgin Church, Langley]].<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1135750|desc=Church of St Mary|grade=I}}</ref>

Founded around 1613 by Sir John Kedermister (d. 1631), it was established to provide for the education of the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of St Mary's, and presented to the church in perpetuity by Sir John. The [[vellum]] catalogue, dated 1638 and listing 307 volumes, is still hanging in the library.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tour of St. Mary's Church|url=http://langleymarish.com/stmary/tour-of-st-marys-church/|access-date=15 March 2021}}</ref>

The library is housed in the former south porch of St Mary's Church. The room has painted panelling and [[trompe-l'oeil]] books on the inside of the shelf doors. The library and Kedermister pew still exists and, with the contemporary catalogue, provides insight into scholarship and [[book collecting]] in the 17th century. The library has two treasures: the ''Kedermister Gospels'' (an 11th-century illuminated manuscript) which is on permanent loan to the [[British Library]] and the ''Pharmacopolium or a booke of Medicine'' (a manuscript [[herbal]] of 1630) which can be seen in the Kedermister Library.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

Langley, also known as Langley Marish, was in the county of [[Buckinghamshire]] until 1974, and the Kedermister Library is overseen by [[Buckinghamshire County Council]] and governed by a charitable trust.<ref>{{EW charity|251336|Kederminster Library}}</ref> The name Kedermister is the most commonly used, though some sources, including the charity governing the library, use the spelling Kederminster.

The library is only open to the public on the first Sunday of the month from March to October, and by personal appointment any time of the year.

==Further information==
*Jane Francis: The Kedermister Library: an account of its origins and a reconstruction of its contents and arrangement; ''Records of Buckinghamshire'' Volume 36 1994 pp. 62–85; ISSN 0967-2885

==See also==
*[[Francis Trigge Chained Library]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110428035740/http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/archives/Kederminster_library.page Kedermister Library website] at [[Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies]] (NB: using the spelling Kederminster)
*[http://www.sloughhistoryonline.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=slough&f=generic_theme%2ehtm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3dtheme_record_id=sl%2dsl%2dkedermister&s=dAp2nyrCtxC Slough History Online: Kedermister Library]
*[http://langleymarish.com/stmary/kedermister-library/ Kedermister Library website]

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[[Category:1613 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Slough]]
[[Category:History of Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Libraries in Berkshire]]

Kedermister Library - Revision history

89.36.64.146 at 15:23, 6 July 2025